If You'd Invested $5,000 in VOO 15 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
Key Points
The past 15 years have been particularly strong for the stock market, boosted by the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence.
While a repeat of this performance is unlikely, even at a slower growth rate, a broad-based investment could experience significant growth.
Just bear in mind that the key is spending as much time in the market as possible, riding out the occasional rough patches.
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Most investors know that in the long run, the S&P 500 logs an average annual gain of about 10% per year (although some years are much better than others). But what does that mean in more tangible terms?
Let's assume you invested $5,000 in the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) or the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEMKT: SPY) -- both meant to mirror the popular index -- at this time of year back in 2011. If you hadn't reinvested any dividends paid in the meantime, that holding would be worth $30,500 today, give or take. And if you had been reinvesting its dividends in more shares of VOO or SPY, the position would be worth $39,980.
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VOO data by YCharts
The latter of those amounts translates into an average yearly gain of just under 15%, handily topping the long-term norm. Just bear in mind that the past three years have been unusually bullish, and the stimulus-driven bull market emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic was uncharacteristically strong as well. Given enough time, this ETF's annual performance will almost certainly ease back to its longer-term average.
Still, even with more typical gains from the index and any funds meant to mirror it, a $5,000 investment logging net average gains of 10% per year would be worth nearly $21,000 in 15 years. The stock market's still the best game in town for achieving wealth-building growth that outpaces inflation.
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James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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